title: Children's utilization of the U.S. military dental insurance.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The objectives of this study were to determine the dental utilization of children enrolled in a military dental insurance program and to assess if utilization differs by socioeconomic status.
  
  
  METHODS
  Claims data for children enrolled in the Department of Defense TRICARE Dental Program for the period of February 1, 2010 through January 31, 2011 were used to identify children who had a dental visit during that benefit year.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of the 376,681 continuously enrolled children, 266,862 (71%) had at least one dental visit during the benefit year. 82.7% of children of officers had a dental visit, as compared to 66.4% of children from enlisted families. There was a difference in dental utilization based on the military rank of the sponsors (χ(2) = 8,939.39, df = 1, p < 0.0001). Children of officers were 2.5 times (95% confidence intervals = 2.44-2.61), and children of warrant officers were 1.6 times (95% confidence intervals = 1.51-1.74) more likely to have a dental visit than children from enlisted families. The results also show utilization trends within the enlisted and officer categories with higher utilization among more senior personnel.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Socioeconomic status does play a role in dental care-seeking behavior of military families. Even when families voluntarily enroll in a program and there are no cost shares for services such as preventive services, there may be other barriers to accessing care that need to be addressed so that all groups can maximize their oral health.
authors.affiliation: Dental Care Branch, TRICARE Management Activity, 7700 Arlington Boulevard, Falls Church, VA 22042, USA.
authors.forename: Jeffrey G
authors.initials: JG
authors.lastname: Chaffin
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Moss
authors.forename: Gary
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Martin
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Leiendecker
authors.forename: Ana Karina
authors.initials: AK
authors.lastname: Mascarenhas
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D006264:Health Benefit Plans, Employee / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007347:Insurance, Dental / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D008889:Military Personnel / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012923:Social Class